A new frontier ...

OK, so I'm not sure if its recommended to both travel to another continent and be full of jet lag as well as buy a brand new (style) bike right before doing a scary triathlon. BUT I am doing both! Here's a picture of me that captures the trepidation I feel! (The frown on my face is due to the fact that I took a vey public spill and landed smack dab on my knee- OUCH).

Actually, the picture is in front of the new National Geographic store on Regent Street ... although you don't see the logo in this frame, it is beginning right on the far side ... London has been nice to me as I have walked even more than I do in Washington DC and surpassing my New York days. Tonight, for example, I was on the hunt for a pub so that I could have some fish and chips for dinner (healthy, right?). Alas, since I'm staying in trendy Chelsea that was no easy task. After traisping around for at least 30 minutes and coming across some really cool restaurants- Itsu (sushi on a conveyor belt), Tartine (trendy French open sandwiches)- as well as ethnic Thai, Indian, Italian, French, Turkish, Ukranian, et al I finally settled on a rotisserie. The chicken was SUPERB and by far beats ours in the states. Very moist- and served with a little terrine of gravy. Yum!

I kicked off the trip by arriving too early to check into my hotel. So, I convinced them to allow me to work out in the gym instead and got in a good bike workout. So, all is well in terms of sticking to my training schedule for this weekend.

Team BUTR

Euphoria!!! This is Lisa and I before the BRATS triathlon in Manassas, VA today at the crack of dawn ... yes, indeed, we had to leave the hotel at 6:00 am in pitch darkness to set up transition, get marked, pick up chips, and get acclimated overall. Note the belt: NOT a good look for me- but since I forgot my id (having picked up my packet yesterday) i was hoping that they would not ask for it this AM as I got marked.

The snake swim was fun ... we lined up by number and Lisa and I ended up luckily right next to each other ...everyone before and after us seemed nervous, with everyone teasingly talking about getting passed in the lanes. My swim went really well- I did it in 9 minutes- shaving three minutes off my swim in White Lake whilst the distance was increased by 100 M!

Once again, the combination of the fellow athletes and all the volunteers made the day. People cheered you on in the 45 degree chill temperature on the bike in your wet clothing and then again on the run. My bike fell over not once, but twice while I was in my second transition, but a nice triathlete ran over and said he'd take care of it for me and to get moving! Very nice!!!

Lorey and Lily were a welcome face at the finish line ... I'll share photos once they've been shared. Although I'm still daunted by the upcoming Escape to Miami (and jetlag from London), the progress I made on my time is keeping me inspired. TOTAL TIME: 1:35

Swim: 9:46 (350 meters)
Bike: 50:35 (10 miles)
Run: 31:15 (2.5 miles)

Eve of the Battle

The infamous site of Bull Run where there were not one but two battles during the Civil War is now the site of yet another momentous occasion ... Betsy's foray into her longest ever (ok, only the second) triathlon in Manassas, VA.

The day started out very inauspiciously as I had a raging headache that had me asleep early and slumbering until close to 10:00 am. Yes, that's HOURS past the sun has been up and almost double my normal 6 hour sleep pattern. Only after trekking out into the countryside and taking a nap did I feel like norma again. Feeling rather lethargic after a lazy day, I wandered over to the Bull Run National Battle Field visitor center and took some pictures while the sun set over the hills. Here you can see me at the ready!

The triathlon commences tomorrow at 7 am sharp. Hopefully Lorey & Lily will come cheer me and Lisa on as we vie each for last place in the race. We're continuing to call ourselves TEAM BUTR (Bringing Up The Rear).

Stay tuned for the results!

Betsy in a bottle ...

OK, I've officially recovered from drinking two much (as in two + bottles shared with one tiny friend) red wine last week, but can't keep the tri glow away from myself. I find myself squeezing in workouts at lunch, before work just for the positive effect. My friend Jeanne wrote me a great email which I'm sharing here- I think she summarized things perfectly!

I am so freakin' proud of you!!!!!! Don't you just feel like you can take on anything now? You didn't think a triathlon was in your realm of possibility and not only did you accomplish it but you exceeded your time goal!! YEAHHHHHHH!!!! I had such a buzz after my first tri that it made me want to try tri again and again. That is so great that you are doing another one this weekend--amazing and inspiring!

Again, I am thrilled for you on the Triathlon. Don't you wish you could bottle that feeling you had at the finish line and take out when you are in meetings or God forbid--on a date?? I know I do!!

Now I'm off for a twenty minute chair massage followed by another 10 mile bike ride ... what a lunch hour!! (And I safely rode my bike to work today so I could go by Whole Foods on my way home to buy some fish for dinner with my faux husband ...)

Planning ...

OK, just want to acknowledge that I actually followed my scheduled workouts (swam yesterday, today biked 15 miles) and cooked for myself both yesterday and today. Lunch was with Jennifer at Robek's, so I stayed within my target range for calories as well. Small steps.

Questions, though ... I did half my bike ride on a recumbent bike and then jumped on a spinning cycle where I completed the rest. Question though- why is that when I was on the recumbent bike I was able to finish a mile in less time than on the spinning cycle? Was it because I did it first? Or was the machine calculating incorrectly?

Tomorrow I'm doing a run ... if I can squeeze it in, I'll do an extra swim workout.

Countdown!!

OK, the Escape to Miami is only three weeks away ... and I'm scheduled to go to London before then ... uh-oh! I've just put in my work calendar my scheduled workouts for the week ... and look forward to completing them. The next hurdle: the Bristow Area Triathlon and Swim "BRATS Triathlon" this weekend in Manassas. This will enable me to get some long training sessions in before the event and Lisa is driving up to join me.

350 M swim
10 M bike
2.5 M run

I am mostly looking forward to getting a medal since I didn't get one at White Lake!!

Positive Momentum

Kind of ... on Monday I took a "rest" day because I was lazy, the weather was yucky and work was crazy. But, I'm very proud to say that I've stuck to the program the rest of the week thus far!

Tuesday- 3 mile run/walk at Durant Nature Park with Angie
Wednesday- 3 mile run/walk followed by 30 minutes of biking at the YMCA
Thursday- 6 mile bike at Shelley Lake

All is not completely positive however, as I was challenged and daunted by the inclines around the lake. Actually, its not even multiple hills- just two steep ones at the beginning. And I had to walk after pedaling halfway b/c my legs could not keep up with the desire to pedal up and up. Makes me fearful of the bridges in Miami. I don't think I've ever seen anyone WALK their bikes up inclines. At least when I biked to Key West years ago, I did successfully ride to the top despite contemplating walking as there were other even less fit folk than I doing just that.

I might do another triathlon next week in Reston. What is a "pool snake swim"? I think it would be a great warmup to the big escape in Miami as I'd be obligated to do the long bike and run, the two components of training I kind of backout of more than I should ... who knows, maybe I'll meet people who train in DC and that will be inspiration for me.

Today, happy to announce that I haven't counteracted my good exercise by eating say, yummy Bojangles or Chic Fil A!

My schedule, and I'm sticking to it!!

BETSY'S SPRINT TRIATHLON PROGRAM FOR ESCAPE TO MIAMI
WEEK	MON	TUES	WED	THURS	FRI	SAT	SUN
27-Jul	OFF	RUN: 15 MINUTES	BIKE: 5 MILES	SWIM: 200 YARDS	OFF	RUN: 15 MINUTES	BIKE: 5 MILES
3-Aug	OFF	S: 200 YDS R: 15 M	BIKE: 6 MILES	SWIM: 200 YARDS	OFF	RUN: 20 MINUTES	BIKE: 8 MILES
10-Aug	OFF	S: 200 YDS R: 20 M	BIKE: 6 MILES	S: 300 YDS W: 30 M	OFF	RUN: 30 MINUTES	BIKE: 10 MILES
17-Aug	OFF	S: 300 YDS R: 20 M	BIKE: 8 MILES	S: 300 YDS W: 30 M	OFF	RUN: 40 MINUTES	BIKE: 10 MILES
24-Aug	OFF	RUN: 20 MINUTES	SWIM: 300 YARDS	BRICK	SWIM: 400 YARDS	RUN: 40 MINUTES	BIKE: 12 MILES
31-Aug	OFF	RUN: 30 MINUTES	SWIM: 400 YARDS	BRICK	SWIM: 400 YARDS	RUN: 40 MINUTES	BIKE: 15 MILES
7-Sep	OFF	RUN: 30 MINUTES	SWIM: 400 YARDS	BRICK	SWIM: 500 YARDS	RUN: 40 MINUTES	B: 15 MILES W: 30 MIN
14-Sep	OFF	RUN: 30 MINUTES	SWIM: 500 YARDS	BRICK	SWIM: 500 YARDS	RUN: 50 MINUTES	B: 20 MILES W: 30 MIN
21-Sep	OFF	S: 500 YDS R: 30 M	BIKE: 15 MILES	S: 600 YDS W: 45 M	OFF	RUN: 50 MINUTES	B: 20 MILES W: 30 MIN
28-Sep	OFF	S: 600 YDS R: 30 M	BIKE: 15 MILES	S: 600 YDS W: 45 M	OFF	RUN: 60 MINUTES	B: 20 MILES W: 30 MIN
RACE WEEK	OFF	S: 500 YDS R: 30 M	BIKE: 15 MILES	OFF	S: 600 YDS W: 45 M	RACE DAY!!

Divadom

Well, I did it! Very excited to see that setting a hoary, audacious fitness goal is not only eminently doable, but that it can be fun as well. Learned lots along the way ... let me see. First would be that I need to focus inward and keep pace with my internal champion. Relying on others to be at my side, is not fair to them or to me because of the potential for disappointment and dashed expectations. I just received a presentation for work that had this fabulous quote:

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” - Benjamin Franklin

I like it ... as Hurricane Hanna approached and people were dropping like flies from the triathlon, I reminded myself of the commitments I had made to myself to be healthier and become the person I want to be. So, whether I stood in the water completely by myself on Sunday morning or with friends, it didn't matter. After all, I would be swimming alone, biking alone, and running alone ... no one would be there to physically push me from behind or pull me in. And despite having difficulty- and hysterics- about not being able to put on my swim cap ... and then accidentally running the wrong way after the bike transition, my only impression was that it was FUN.

Second, I would say, is that you get out of something what you put into it ... I definitely stopped training as I lost faith a couple of weeks ago, but now I'm energized. If a haphazard commitment could enable me to beat my goal, what could happen if I actually got serious about myself?? So now I am in Raleigh and following my training plan and listening to my inner self say "Go Betsy!"

And the third epiphany is that the Escape to Miami will be scary!! Let me see ... salt water, currents, BIG inclines on the hill and on the run, I'm probably in over my head. BUT, I'll be in good company as I can count on Chloe not to back out, and because I will have some of my fan base in attendance. Since its scary sometimes to have people believe in you more than yourself, I think I'll just accept it and use it when I become the first person in the history of a triathlon to wanting to walk with my bike ...